I am but a humble traveler, blessed beyond what I could ever ask for.

Month: October 2016

If one has to look down to admire Bryce, the massive rock formations in Zion would have you gazing up in awe at its grandeur, magnificence, vastness and scale. Driving up to Zion was, just like most of Utah-Arizona-New-Mexico trip, driving up to a movie set. Or even a Disney amusement park with its large scale, nature themed rides. It was a perfect day, just enough sun, enough mists above the mountains for them to be picturesque, disappearing as mid morning crept in. I’d discovered there were two ends to Zion, you can enter one and think you’re seeing these grand, red canyons, then you pass a tunnel and then you’ll see these white, smooth and patterned rocks. We were less lazy that day, too. Driving to different spots, yes, but actually having the chance to hike a little, finally. We weren’t feeling all that well throughout the trip — having pushed to finish deadlines before vacation thereby exhausting ourselves both physically and mentally almost to the point of getting sick. So it was quite …

They call it Inspiration Point. It took us our full visit to get there, taking our time, having been pushed to start at the other end of the park by the big bold “parking lot full” sign as we entered, driving from one lookout to another — at this point in our ten-day, 2300 mile sojourn being lazy travelers. It can, as it is aptly named, inspire sonnets and poems and masterpieces, the best view in Bryce Canyon National Park. Those of you who have read one or a few of my entries here before know that we are working our way through the national parks as part of our bucket list, or that is the dream, anyway. Bryce is beautiful. My, I feel inadequate. As if not one word I write will be enough to describe the feeling I was overcome upon encountering it, all of the wonders this entire trip, really. Stone castles formed by sand and wind, it is unreal the shapes and shadows cast at differing hours of just the short …

We were halfway into our most recent trip when we got to Arizona. The agenda for the day was to see Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon located in a Navajo land. Formed by erosion of sandstone, the canyon is continuously changing with the effects of water, wind and time. We (and by we I mean my super planner of a boyfriend) had scheduled a tour of the upper canyon for the morning and the lower canyon for the afternoon. We were advised that the best time to see the canyons is at about 10:30 in the morning, so we had made a reservation for said slot. The waiting area is open, not much seating and except for the road coming into it, nothing much around except the vast dessert that surrounds. The upper canyon is a few miles from the waiting area. Our group boarded a small open vehicle that can seat five on each side. The drive to the canyon offered us a chance to see the dessert leading up to it, lasting approximately …